Comprehensive Sickness Insurance - CSI

[Amigo32]

I am a spouse of an EEA national and about to apply for ILR after being here for over 5 years. My wife has been exercising her treaty rights and both are self sufficient.
She was made redundant in 2009 and claimed job seekers allowance for 2 months 8/07/09 - 13/09/2009 ( registered herself with several recruitment agencies) she chose to study AAT foundation which she qualified in July 2010. She started her current job in November 2010.
I have 3 questions:

1-We didn't know that she had to have a CSI, is there any other alternatives to go around it as I heard a lot of people got declined because of it?

2- She was off work for a total just under 6 months, will this gap oppose any concerns on the application?

Need your advice as I really don't want to send my application with any missing doc/info or cover letters for the UKBA caseworker to use as an excuse to decline it.

3- Should I apply via an immigration solicitor ?

Thank you for reply

[Obie]

Your spouse is considered as a worker during the time he/she was made redundant and subsequently engaged in vocational training. You application should be fine, if UKBA follows their guidance and the law.

[Amigo32]

Your spouse is considered as a worker during the time he/she was made redundant and subsequently engaged in vocational training. You application should be fine, if UKBA follows their guidance and the law.

Thanks for the quick reply Obie, I think you answered question 2
Can anyone answer Q1 & Q3

Thank you

[nonspecifics]

Do you mean she was a full-time student - not a worker or jobseeker - for a period of time? If so, how long?

If so, then the CSI question is relevant.

If she was unemployed but it is classed as vocational training then it is ok:

See here:

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/ecg/eunati ... anationals

"In most circumstances we would expect an EEA national to be economically active within six months. It is highly likely that an individual claiming a right of residence as a job-seeker will also be exercising treaty rights as a self-sufficient person.

Worker - The EEA national must be able to show evidence that they are in full-time or part-time employment e.g. copy of a contract, pay slips.

If an EEA national temporarily ceases employment, they can still be considered a qualified person under the following circumstances:

They are temporarily unable to work as the result of an illness or accident

They are involuntarily unemployed and have started vocational training; or
They have voluntarily stopped working and started on vocational training related to their previous employment.


They have registered as a job seeker and
were employed for one year or more before becoming unemployed;
have been unemployed for no more than six months; or
can provide evidence that they are seeking employment in the United Kingdom and have a genuine chance of being engaged."


When on JSA, If she was receiving NI contributions based JSA then that is not public funds, so that is not an unreasonable burden.

[Obie]

If question 2 is answered in the affirmative, then it is pointless to answer 1 and 3, as you will qualify anyway

[Amigo32]

Do you mean she was a full-time student - not a worker or jobseeker - for a period of time? If so, how long?

She was made redundant and on jobseeker for 2 months then full-time student for 10 months then not a worker for 4 months until she found a job in November 2010.

Based on above info, do you think they will ask for CSI ? She wasn't a burden to public funds.

I'm still confused as 2 different solicitors told different things today.

Please clarify for me and let me know my options

Thanks

[nonspecifics]

OK, I think I've got it.

Assuming the AAT qualifies as a vocational course it seems the main issue is a gap:

July 2010 - November 2010: here you are worried that IF she was not a worker and not a student, so to qualify as self-sufficient she would require CSI.

So, what did she do when she finished her course?

From July 2010 onwards Was she a jobseeker?

or voluntarily unemployed and not looking for work?

or what?

Obviously at some point she must have been a jobseeker again, cos she found work in November 2010.

[Amigo32]

So, what did she do when she finished her course?

She was actively looking for a job, going through interviews

From July 2010 onwards Was she a jobseeker?

No didn't claim jobseekers allowance

or voluntarily unemployed and not looking for work?

She was looking for a job until she was accepted for one in November 2010

[nonspecifics]

Hopefully, the gurus can confirm this:

To be a jobseeker means a person is actively seeking work for which they have a genuine chance of gaining employment.

The person does not have to register with the JobcentrePlus and claim Jobseekers allowance to be a jobseeker (worker) under the 2004 Directive rules.

Obviously it is easier to prove being a jobseeker if the person does register and claim JSA and does job searches with the JobcentrePlus.

However, if the person has evidence they were applying for jobs and searching for work then they should qualify as a jobseeker exercising Treaty Rights and so CSI would not be required.

The fact , that in your wife's case she was going to job interviews and found work in four months is also good evidence she was actively seeking work as a jobseeker, considering the economic climate in 2010 onwards when jobs have become harder to find.

[Amigo32]

Can a Guru confirm what nonspecifics mentioned above please ?

[naija99]

Please can someone confirm the position in this case -

Non EEA family member was granted RC from July 2007 to July 2012. He now wishes to apply for PR as the child of a Swedish national who was working in the same employment since 2002 until June 2011.

The Swedish national has a blue card.

The Swedish national left his employment voluntarily due to personal problems. He then claimed JSA from June 2011 until present date. He has not registered with any agencies or been for any interviews.

The JSA that he is receiving states that it is assessed based upon how much the law says he needs to live on and his Class 1 National Insurance Contribution record. (not sure if this is income based or not)

He was ill for the last 3 months (March to May 2012) but has now started making applications for jobs. A company has made a request for references with a view to employing him.

Is the Non EEA national's application for PR likely to be refused based on the Swede's JSA claim?

[Jambo]

Please can someone confirm the position in this case -

Non EEA family member was granted RC from July 2007 to July 2012. He now wishes to apply for PR as the child of a Swedish national who was working in the same employment since 2002 until June 2011.

The Swedish national has a blue card.

The Swedish national left his employment voluntarily due to personal problems. He then claimed JSA from June 2011 until present date. He has not registered with any agencies or been for any interviews.

The JSA that he is receiving states that it is assessed based upon how much the law says he needs to live on and his Class 1 National Insurance Contribution record. (not sure if this is income based or not)

He was ill for the last 3 months (March to May 2012) but has now started making applications for jobs. A company has made a request for references with a view to employing him.

Is the Non EEA national's application for PR likely to be refused based on the Swede's JSA claim?

Under EEA regulations, after 5 years of exercising treaty rights you obtain automatically Permanent Residence status. Once PR is obtained, there is no need to exercise treaty rights for residence. You only lose PR status if you leave the UK for more than 2 years.

So it seems the EEA national has PR. What does the sticker in the blue card say? When was it apply for?

If the EEA national has PR, he doesn't need to exercise treaty rights and allowed to claim JSA without affecting his residence.

[naija99]

Thanks for that confirmation Jambo. So thats a positive, the EEA national auomatically has PR and JSA doesnt affect his residence but will it affect the non EEA national's application for PR on EEA4 application?
Do you simply ignore that section on the form if the EEA national has PR?

[Jambo]

but will it affect the non EEA national's application for PR on EEA4 application?

No.

Do you simply ignore that section on the form if the EEA national has PR?

If the EEA national has a confirmation of his PR i.e. his blue card has a sticker in it which says "Document certifying Permanent Residence", then on EEA4 application form tick the first box in Section 6 and move to section 7.

If the EEA national doesn't have PR confirmation, then he could provide evidence of 5 continuous years of employment in the past (5 P60s).

[naija99]

Thanks Jambo, so is this due to the EEA national having the blue card. Is it basically similar to him having ILR and therefore being able to claim benefits?

[Jambo]

Thanks Jambo, so is this due to the EEA national having the blue card. Is it basically similar to him having ILR and therefore being able to claim benefits?

It's not due to the blue card he holds but the status that he holds (card are optional under EEA regulations). PR is similar to ILR in that sense.

With regards to the blue card, what does the sticker inside say and when was it applied for?

[naija99]

Will find out and get back to you. Thanks Jambo.

[naija99]

Hi Jambo
The blue card: date of issue 14.11.03 valid until 14.11.08.
Would he have to apply for a new one? Does it make any difference if he just leaves it?

[Jambo]

So he got an old Residence Permit (under the EEA regulations 2000). There is no need to apply for a new one as the PR is obtained automatically (if exercising treaty rights for continuous 5 years).

The child will need to apply using form EEA4 and provide evidence of The father exercising treaty rights. The simplest would be using 5 P60s to cover 2006-2011. He will also need to provide evidence of the father's residence during this period. The child will need to provide evidence of residence for the last 5 years.

[naija99]

Thanks